


If Michelangelo Met Erynnis First

by PonderRose



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Forbidden Love, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Jealousy, Love Triangles, Overprotective, Possessive Behavior, Protectiveness, Romantic Friendship, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-24 14:55:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16177400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PonderRose/pseuds/PonderRose
Summary: Same premise as "If Leonardo Met Erynnis First" except the first turtle you meet is Michelangelo this time.





	1. Malaga

Takes place at start of TMNT (2012) season one, episode four (in Edinburgh instead of New York)- 

Michelangelo fumed far away from his brothers as they returning to the lair. Stupid brothers, and especially stupid Raphael. He didn’t think all humans should be off-limits. Not everyone could or would react to him like Mitten’s crazy owner, or at least that’s what the orange-masked turtle reasoned. Some would actually make really cool friends! That is if his older brothers ever let him try and talk to one again. 

It’s not fair! Michelangelo frowned, kicking the miniscule amount of dirt with his right foot. Why do they get to decide that we automatically can’t talk to humans? April’s a human and they talk to her; why couldn’t he try again to make friends with someone else? 

The youngest turtle’s thoughts were interrupted by a loud shriek. Instantly stiffening, Michelangelo didn’t hesitate to rush to the source of the noise, in fear that someone needed help. Turning a corner, the turtle was surprised to see a young woman petrified and staring at something on the ground. My head instantly shot over to the man-sized turtle standing at the front of the alley with a confused expression. A wave of relief instantly washed over my face when I saw him, quickly pointing to the evil, repulsive, abhorrent beast opposite me across the alleyway. “Oh, thank goodness!” I professed, looking at my savior with pleading eyes. “Get it away! Get it away!” 

Michelangelo blinked from me to the malicious black rat on the ground. One would think that it was preparing itself to physically assault me by the way I acted. My eyes were covered with one hand while the other pointed to the vile monster. But in reality, it stood up and gave a little squeak, making me cry out in fear. I was more terrified of the foul rodent than the gigantic turtle standing near me. Not really sure what to make of the situation, Michelangelo stepped closer to the little devil and shooed it away with a wave of his hand. It looked up at the orange-masked turtle and scurried off without much concern. 

“All gone!” Michelangelo grinned, turning to me. Hesitantly, I lowered my hand to look at the now bare ground. “Thank you!” Michelangelo felt his heart skip a beat, a series of beats when I gave him a brilliant, grateful smile. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I was petrified!” “I-it’s no problem!” He blinked, remembering to breathe. It was then that he got a good look at me. His cheeks blushed unconsciously the longer he stared at me. When I didn’t say anything but continued to grin at him, Michelangelo felt that he should say something- anything. He felt that it didn’t really matter at the moment. Feeling really awkward and shy, he forced himself to let out a small laugh, instantly regretting it. He wanted more than anything to give this air of confidence, but he had no idea what he was doing. And it’s not my fault either, Michelangelo thought to himself. I’ve never been alone with a girl before- an extremely hot girl! 

“A-afraid of rats, huh?” “Oh absolutely! It’s my phobia- my irrational, overpowering phobia.” “You’re more afraid of rats than a giant, mutant turtle?” Michelangelo laughed uncomfortably, clearly unexperienced with conversation with the opposite sex. I blinked at him, my grin faded, which immediately worried him. “Why would I be afraid of you? You’re my savior. I’m indebted to you!” My hands went you to my chest in a show of intimate honesty. He blushed, an elicited shiver climbing up his spine and his hands grew so sweaty that he ridiculously feared they’d start to stink. Only one thought repeated through his head as he stared at me: be my friend, please be my friend. 

“T-thanks! But I didn’t really do anything. I kinda wish it was a bigger threat so could I really save you,” Michelangelo said, already feeling like an idiot and a jerk for wishing that I was in more danger, just so he might show off. Relief filled him when I burst out in a sweet, little laugh. “I think it was perfect! That was definitely terrifying enough for me to feel like a damsel in distress.” “Ah! Have no fear, mine-mo-dell! You’re knight in shell-armor is here to vanquish the evil rat monster!” His hand shot out in a playful jester, which made me laugh all the more. “Mademoiselle,” I corrected gently. “Who?” “Mademoiselle- a young, unmarried woman. I’m a mademoiselle, you’re a monsieur.” “Oh!..... What does that mean?” I watched him for a moment before grinning, delighted at his ignorance of Parisian titles. “It’s what you call a gentleman.” “Oh, ok! I get ya!” He waved his hand nonchalantly. 

“Thank you for saving me, Mr. Turtle.” “Uh, Mikey. I’m name is Mikey…… well, actually Michelangelo, but you can call me Mikey.” “Michelangelo…..” I repeated to myself, glancing into nowhere thoughtfully. All of Michelangelo’s limbs flexed again at the sound of his name escaping from my lips. Holy crap! He blinked several times, as if he didn’t believe his own ears. I didn’t know my name could sound like that…..! And he wanted more than anything in the world in that moment for me to say it one more time. Just one more- to make sure that he right, so he reasoned with himself. “Uh, what?” He asked, feeling like a lunatic knowing that he fully heard me the first time. “Michelangelo?” I asked, not reading into the action. His cheeks blushed harder than they ever had before, and he couldn’t bring himself to look me in the eye.

“Is it alright if I call you Michelangelo? It’s quite a lovely name.” “Uh, yeah! Yeah, sure; you can call me that,” Michelangelo answered very quickly. “Ok,” I smiled, only adding to the redness in his cheeks. “I’m Erynnis.” “A-ata-i-knees,” I laughed at his pathetic attempt to say my name. “Eros is the Gaelic translation. You can call me Eros.” “Oh! You mean like bow and arrows!” “Heh, yes. I guess that’s one homonyms.” “Uh…….?” “Words that sound the same,” I explained. “Gottcha!” His fingers snapped at me. 

“So, what are you doin’ out? Going somewhere?” Michelangelo asked, not wanting to stop the conversation. “Yes, actually. I was on my way when that little devil interrupted me.” “W-where you going? I could walk you there, if you want!” His hands shot up innocently. T-these streets are dangerous at night,” he continued when I looked at him with a puzzled face. “I’d keep all the rats away,” he smiled naïvely, and I laughed at the cute offer. “I was on my way to Malaga for the evening.” “Malaga?” He repeated, considering to himself in confusion. “You mean….. the country?” “Yes, 146 to be precise. Would you like to come with me?” I kept speaking at the astonished glance he gave me. “Only for a few hours!” My hands waved back and forth in the air. “I was going to go on a walk along the beach before bed and would very much fancy an escort. Would you like to join me?”   
“Uh s-sure!” Michelangelo answered before he realized what he was saying. Unlike his older and less-trusting brothers, the orange-masked turtle didn’t have it in him to even consider the possibility that this could be a trap. But he did hesitate after he caught himself, unsure if this was a good idea; not because it might be dangerous, but he wasn’t sure if he should go with me. I was a human after all, and he was a mutant. “Face it. Humans will never understand you.” Raphael’s sharp words rang through his head. I looked at him puzzled when he glanced down with somewhat of a sad expression. 

“A-are you sure about this?” “Huh? What do you mean?” I asked him, tilting my head to the side a tad. “Are sure me coming with you is a good idea? I-I’m an….. an ugly, green, mutant, freak,” his soft, baby-blue eyes scrolled up to meet mine embarrassed. “Who called you that?” I asked in a startled tone. “Uh, well…… it’s true,” Michelangelo’s shoulders gave a little shrug. “No, it’s not,” his eyes blinked back up to mine as I spoke. He looked to see me smiling at him with the upmost tenderness. “You’re a kind man with a wonderful name. And you’re not afraid of rats; that’s a bonus!” “R-really?!” He blinked at me in amazement. “I wouldn’t invite you if you weren’t. Michelangelo,” I held out my hand for his. His eyes grew huge, moving from it to my sweet, smiling face. “Will you be my escort this evening?” Michelangelo hesitated for a second; not because he was unsure about going but because he feared that once he took my hand, he’d never be able to let me go. He was proven right when he timidly extended his own three-fingered large hand out, taking my tiny one in his. I inwardly smiled at the sweatiness of his palm; I must have made him nervous. In a good way. 

“S-so!” Despite not being able to release me emotionally, Michelangelo immediately pulled back his hand in a show of shyness the moment our hands met. I grinned but didn’t say anything. “H-how do we get to Malaga from here?” He asked, looking at anything but me; he was embarrassed how bright his whole face was burning. “You got a secret jet or something?” “No,” I giggled, shaking my head. Not attempting to take his arm, as was the custom with escorts, I led him down the alley. “It’ll be easier to show you than explain. All we need to do is find an unlocked door.” “A door?” His eyebrow raised. I watched curiously as he ran in front of me, testing all the doors ahead of us in the alleyway. He gave me a wave when he found one open to an abandon room in one of the buildings. “Found one!” “Lovely!” I praised, joining his side. I shut the door and placed my hand on the handle. Before I opened “the door” I looked at Michelangelo with a serious expression which took him back a little. “You won’t tell anyone, will you? Can I trust you this? It’s supposed to be a secret.” “Sure, you can trust me! I’d never tell anyone!” He said, conveniently forgetting that he had three older brothers whose team motto was “turtles first”. But he seemed so earnest that I was inclined to believe him. After staring at him for a minute, I grinned and slowly turned the handle, pushing “the door” open. 

Michelangelo’s head turned from me to the other side of the door, which revealed another alleyway. His spine stiffened when a sudden gust of warm, summer air hit the front of his knees and arms. To show that there was nothing to fear, I went in first and glanced back with an encouraging grin. Cautiously, Michelangelo crossed the threshold and I shut “the door” behind him. Even though we were in an alley, it was clear that we were no longer in Edinburgh. The smell was the first to assault Michelangelo’s senses. It smelt completely different; tarry and salty with a hint of rainforest essence. He’d never smelled anything like it before and would remember it for the rest of his life. 

Too stunned to move right away, I let Michelangelo come to terms that we were in a different country across the ocean. Then I gently tugged at his arm, pulling him towards the alley’s exit. “Come, I’ll show you the beach. Have you ever seen a tropical rainforest before?” “No……. Wait, rainforest? There’s a rainforest here?!” He clasped my hands in both of his, giving me a look of pure excitement, one I rarely saw before. “What are we waiting for!? Let’s go!” The eager turtle nearly pulled my arm out of its socket yanking me down and out of the alley. There were no questions on how my powers worked; that seemed of no consequence now that we were here. 

It was dark enough that we could leave the alleyway without being seen outright. Michelangelo absorbed everything like a sponge. He particularly loved the tall palm trees lining the streets. I watched as he climbed one, waving at me from the top. “Look! There’s coconuts up here!” He called down, waving his hand high in the air. Michelangelo adored every inch of the place. The smells, the exotic flora and fauna, the red, yellow, and orange buildings- everything. I offered to sneak us into the castle on top of the hill with rainforest below, but he refused, wanting to get in the “old-fashioned” way, and it was dark enough for us to get away with it too. After informing him that I had no experience climbing high, yellow-stone walls, Michelangelo quickly thought of a solution. My eyes grew in surprise when he hoisted me up onto his back. “Hold on tight,” he instructed with a smile as I wrapped my arms around his neck, securing myself against him. 

We entered the castle with relative ease, much to my surprise. The first thing we did was head to the top of one of the side towers, so to get a good look at the surrounding city. “Wow!” Michelangelo gasped breathlessly, staring out at the city overseeing the ocean. I glanced from him back to the sea, very pleased with his happy reaction. After a couple of minutes of silent staring, I gently tugged at his arm, turning him around to my favorite view. His eyes widened when he saw the endless mountains of rainforest behind us. “Holy cats…….” He said with huge eyes, his mouth agape. “I know, I love it too.” “I wanna go there,” he heard himself say without his brain’s permission, but he didn’t care at the moment. I laughed. “I want to go there too. But it’s too late for that. It’s a provincial park, and it’s not safe at night.” 

“We’d be safe!” Michelangelo countered, pulling out his nun-chucks for emphasis. “I can handle anything that tries to attack us!” He asserted with confidence. “I’m sure you can! But that forest is full of venomous insects and snakes.” “Insects?..... Y-you mean spiders?” “Yes, unfortunately. They’re in there too.” “Oh! M-maybe we should wait ‘til it’s light out!” His large hand rubbed the back of his neck, glancing away. “Good idea,” I grinned in approval. “Would you settle for the ocean tonight?” “The beach? Heck yeah!” He gave me a shining grin, making me laugh. “Good! You won’t be disappointed.” 

“Eros, watch this!” Michelangelo ran about in the waves, kicking against them as he went. I sat on the seawall, watching him with a content smile. “This is great!” He exclaimed loudly to himself, looking down at the water at feet. “I didn’t know sea water could feel this warm!” “Having fun, Michelangelo?” I shouted from across the beach. “Yeah! You should come here! The water’s so warm!” Smiling, I took off my sandals and ran down through the sand towards him. Laughing, Michelangelo playfully splashed some sea water at me. I retaliated by kicking some at him. We laughed and chased each other in and out of the waves. We did for twenty minutes or so until we were both laying on the beach, gasping and staring up at the starry sky. 

While the orange-masked turtle gazed up contently, I looked over at him. “Are you glad you came?” “Oh yeah! This is some of the most fun I’ve ever had in my life!” He answered, not meeting my gaze, though I could see that he was smiling. “You like Malaga?” “You are kidding? I love it here! I could come here all the time!” “Well then, you could be my escort next time if you’d like.” To my surprise, Michelangelo rolled his head in the sand to face me, not saying anything right away. We just stared at each other for a moment. Then his soft lips curled into a tender smile, and mine mirrored his. “Thanks, I mean thanks, Eros.” “You’re welcome, Michelangelo.” 

Getting up some time later, we shook the sand off us and I checked the time on my phone. It was almost eleven; we had been abroad for almost two hours now. Glancing back at my new friend, I put my phone and turned to face him, folding my arms in front of me. “Well, it’ll be eleven soon. We should head back.” “Awe! But we’re having so much fun!” Michelangelo groaned dramatically. He had completely forgotten about the others and the fact that he neglected to tell them where he had disappeared to for the past couple of hours. The world seemed to consist of only Malaga now and we were its only inhabitants. It didn’t help either that I didn’t ask about his family, making it all the easier to forget his human-adverse brothers back home. 

I smiled at my orange-masked friend. “Sorry Michelangelo, it’s getting late and I’m not a night owl.” “Really? That’s the total opposite of me,” he sighed when he saw my soft, asking eyes. “Alright!” His gaze rolled up melodramatically. “We can head back,” he spoke with an adorable pout. “Ok, but let’s make one last stop beforehand,” I gave him a playful wink, lightening his spirits. 

Michelangelo brought me to this late-night bakery, waiting at the side of the building while I went inside. I bought the last two donuts they had and came out with them in a white paper bag in my arm. I carried two bottles of Malagian soda in my other hand. We went back to the seawall where I gave Michelangelo one of the sodas and donuts. He scanned it curiously, feeling the sugar cover his large fingers. “It’s a donut,” I explained when he didn’t ask. “A what?” “A Malagian pastry. It’s like a cake without icing.” Michelangelo took a bite and his eyes grew in sudden delighted surprise. The donut was gone within seconds, an ecstatic grin passing his lips. “This is super yummy!” “I thought you’d like it. We don’t have many continental bakeries in Edinburgh, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity,” I took a sip of my soda, glancing back out at the water. Turning back to see that his donut was already gone, I grinned slightly and held mine out to him. “Here, have mine too.” “S-seriously?!” He blinked at me like I was offering him something of extraordinary value. “No one’s ever offered me their food before!”   
I stared at the dumbfounded turtle in astonishment. “R-really?” Was all I could think to say. “Yeah!” Michelangelo took the donut without hesitation, only realizing what was happening once the bag was in his hand. His gay grin began to fade as he looked down at it, slowly turning to face me again. “You sure?” Reluctance filled his voice and his shimmering, baby-blue eyes. His face was so concerned and sincere, I couldn’t help but smile at his silent honesty. “Yes.” “But you didn’t get one!” “I can get one anytime,” my hand waved in the air. “I can go without this one time,” I added with a sugary wink. “Thanks!” Michelangelo wasted no more time shoving the other donut in his mouth, his cheeks puffing out in the cutest way possible. I giggled but not loud enough as to offend my new friend. 

Once we finished our sodas, Michelangelo and I crept along the side streets to find an unlocked door. One appeared in the alley near main street. With a quick check around, I opened the door back to Edinburgh where we met. Michelangelo let me go through first and quickly followed, shutting the door behind us. Then he glanced around, happy to see that it worked; that we made it back intact. But this happiness was short-lived when his eyes turned back to me and realized that our time together was hastily coming to a close. I grasped the same sad fact at the meeting of our eyes. Oh……. I slowly gazed down at my hands. Oh. 

“Well,” I made myself grin, dragging my head up to face Michelangelo. “We made it back alive.” “Heh, sure did,” he rubbed the back of his neck and blinked to the side nervously. After watching him for a second, my lips let out a small smile. “Did you have fun tonight?” “Heck yeah!” His fist pumped into the air, instantly forgetting all previous sadness for a moment. “I love Malaga! The rainforest, the warm water, the donuts! It’s awesome!” I laughed. “Yes, I love it too. And I’m so glad you were my escort this evening. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a lovely escort.” 

Michelangelo immediately blushed as he blinked, his face stiffening in surprise. That’s right…… He slowly came to remember. He had just spent the night with a girl, a woman…… and a really kind, hot one at that. A mischievous yet innocent grin peered across his lips. He looked at me and I looked at him, smiling. “T-thanks, Eros.” “The pleasure was mine, Michelangelo.” A shiver ran down his spine at the sound of his name forming from my lips. 

“S-so, what do we do now?” Michelangelo asked, rubbing the side of his arm with his hand. “What do you mean?” “Are we gonna…… Should we……. Should we exchange numbers or something?” The orange-masked turtle asked with no clue to what he was doing. When my only response was a confused tilt of the head, he flinched up feeling like a complete fool. “I was just wondering how we were going to keep in contact……. Only if you want to!” His hands shot up at the last part defensively. “Y-you want to see me again?” I asked, my own cheeks blushing for the first time we met. 

That did it. Michelangelo felt his head nearly explode off his shoulders. He couldn’t imagine anything could look as I did when I blushed- the picture of radiant beauty, innocence and invitation all at once. He couldn’t dream of never seeing me again; it automatically seemed out of the question. I was in his future; he looked forward into the near future and found me there, somehow. I needed to be there. And the youngest turtle was overcome with this feeling totally foreign to him. He had this overwhelming urge to reach out and take my hand in his, and just hold it. I want to hold her hand…… Michelangelo slowly began to realize to himself as he came into his awakening. I want to hold your hand. 

I watched as this calm, somewhat enlightened look passed over his face and he smiled warmly at me. “Yeah, I do. I really want to be friends, Eros.” The sincerity in his voice made my mouth gap open a little. “I want to be friends too, Michelangelo. Here, let me give you my number.” His green face beamed as he pulled out his T-phone and handed it to me. I looked at the strange phone with interest. “Cool phone.” “Thanks! I call it a T-phone, cause turtle-phone.” “Very nice,” I grinned, inputting my name and number inside. Once I texted myself from his phone, I sent my address from my phone and handed his back. “There, I sent me your number. You can call or text, if you like.” “Awesome!” Michelangelo squeaked ignoring the implications of going to a girl’s apartment unescorted. “Awe, thanks, Eros! This is so cool! I can’t wait to tell…….” 

Michelangelo froze. The external world filled his conscious as he suddenly remembered that we were not the only two in existence. Each of his brothers’ faces flashed in and out of his mind like a rapid slideshow, filling him to the brim with dread. We were most certainly not alone, he had three older brothers- three strong, human-mistrusting brothers……. Shit. 

“Michelangelo?” The orange-masked turtle blinked up at me when my confused, concerned voice entered his ears. “I-is something wrong?” I asked, worried about his unexpected change in demeanor. “Oh man…… Those guys are gonna kill me!” Michelangelo stated to himself, raising his hand to his forehead and staring into nowhere afraid. “Who?” “My brothers. We’re kinda supposed to stay away from humans and they’d kinda…… be really mad if they knew.” “Oh, I see,” my eyes scrolled down, trying to think of a solution for my new friend to keep him out of trouble. After a moment or two, I came up with an idea. 

“What if you came to my apartment when it was safe?” “Huh?” Michelangelo blinked up at me curiously. “You come see me when you know you won’t get caught.” “R-really!?” His cheeks flushed a cute brownish-red again. I nodded. “Yes! I’ll text you my address and you can come wherever it’s safe for you. I don’t want you to get into trouble on my account.” “T-thanks, Eros! I think that’ll work, if I’m sneaky.” “I guess I’m your secret for a now then,” I laughed and Michelangelo grinned. “Alright! Super-hot…… I mean super-secret friend!” “So, you’ll keep in touch and let me know when you can see me again?” “Sure thing!” He beamed in excitement. 

Michelangelo went back to the lair, half-afraid and half-elated. He didn’t even bother thinking of an excuse; it never occurred to him to do so. The night had just been so wonderful that the turtle hadn’t in him to adulterate it, even to cover himself. Or so he thought before he met his brothers on the way back. He wasn’t so surprised when he came upon them on one of the rooftops. They were looking for their youngest brother. “Mikey!” The orange-masked turtle’s head shot over at the sound of a familiar voice on another roof. “Uh, h-hi you guys,” Michelangelo gave a little wave as the three jumped over to meet him.  
“Where have you been?!” Raphael was the first to reprimand. “We’ve been looking for you for hours, dude,” Leonardo added, not sounding as furious as their red-masked brother. “Uh…..” Now the youngest turtle wished he had thought of an alibi, seeing as his brothers all expected a reply; and probably an acceptable one at that. “Sorry, dudes. I was uh…… um…….” “Yes?” Donatello raised an impatient eyebrow. “I went on a walk…… to think about……. what you guys said.” Nice! Michelangelo immediately praised himself for his “quick” thinking. The others however, did not appear convinced. 

“You expect us to believe that?! We’ve been everywhere and saw no sign of you,” Raphael spat, crossing his arms sternly. “Well I am a ninja,” Michelangelo countered, shooting his brother a look. “I’m supposed to be able to sneak around all invisible-like.” “You couldn’t sneak around if your life depended on it,” Donatello said, regretting it a little right away. “Look,” Michelangelo felt the noose tighten around his neck. He tried to loosen it while he still could and that meant answering as few questions as possible. The conversation had to die and quick. “I just wanted some personal time, alright? Nothing bad happened; I didn’t bump into the Kraang or anything. But it’s all cool now. Ok, bros?” They still didn’t look entirely convinced but relaxed their shoulders a bit. “You sure nothin’ happened?” Leonardo asked, lifting up an eyebrow but softening his voice. “Tots!” The orange-masked turtle waved his hand in the air, trying to appear as casual as possible. 

Michelangelo’s brothers stared at him for another moment before Leonardo turned to leave. “Alright guys, come on. We should head back to the lair.” Raphael was the last to turn, eyeing his youngest brother one last time. Michelangelo let out the biggest sigh of relief and happily trailed behind the others back home, pausing to glance up at the sky every now and then. He always unconsciously smiled when he did, aware that this was the same sky we were under in Malaga. The same sky I was under right now……. Michelangelo’s grin was so wide that he had to shut his eyes as this overwhelming happiness took hold of him. The sky suddenly seemed so much bigger, wider…… since the moment he looked at me. 

Everyone noticed how unusually happy the youngest turtle was the next day. Granted, Michelangelo was well-known as the most optimistic, happy-go-lucky one, but even for him this seemed excessive. And what’s strangest about it was his lack of awareness too. He hummed to himself, grinned sappily and stared off into space; he even sighed for no reason a couple of times. The others were confused and very suspicious, seeing absolutely no due cause for his unexpected change in behavior. But none of them would have guessed that it had anything to do with a girl- no less him actually meeting and traveling with one. It was April who started to put the pieces together. It happened when she visited them at the lair early in the evening. To her surprise, Michelangelo was reading a magazine on Malaga’s tourist destinations, humming absent-mindedly to himself as he carefully gazed over each page. 

“Thinking of doing some traveling there, Mikey?” April asked, coming up to sit beside the orange-masked turtle on the floor next to his beanbag chair. Michelangelo blinked over at her alarmed at the sudden arrival but quickly shook it off. He gave her a cute yet timid smirk. “As if. I just like looking at the pictures,” he explained innocently enough. Her interest peeked though, when he continued flipping through the pages and humming a soft melody. 

“What’s her name?” Michelangelo almost fell out of his seat, instantly dropping the magazine to the floor. The expression he gave April was incriminating enough, even he only wore it for a few seconds. Realizing what he had done, he quickly gathered himself up and tried to look as causal as possible. “Who’s whose name, April?” “I was kidding,” she grinned, half-honest. “You just seem super happy today, that’s all. It’s almost like you have a crush or something.” “A crush!?” Michelangelo forced a laugh, waving his hand in the air as if to shoo away the awkwardness in the room. “Get real. Who’s there to have a crush on? I’m just in a good mood.” 

“Which is super weird, considering that run-in with that guy last night,” Raphael said from where he was doing push-ups with his daggers behind them. “What guy?” April asked. “Mikey showed to himself to a human, expecting him to not freak out at seeing an ugly, green, mutant, freak.” “Really?” April gazed back to the now glaring-at-Raphael Michelangelo. “Why did you do that?” “He wants human friends,” Raphael answered for him. “Mikey,” April giggled, leaning in towards him with a friendly smile. “You already have a human friend.” He looked at her confused. “Me,” she answered his silent question. “April, you don’t count,” Michelangelo retorted, reaching down to pick up his magazine. “We saved your life; you have to like us.” “Too bad there’s nowhere for freaks to meet people where no one can see how hideous they are,” Raphael commented gingerly. Michelangelo glared at his older brother before getting up and going to his room. April watched him go and then shot a look at Raphael herself. “Raph!” “What? You think any human’s ever gonna accept him? The sooner he realizes that humans want nothing to do with us, the better.” 

Michelangelo wasn’t to be deterred though. He marched straight to his room, slammed the door shut, and spent the rest of the hour texting and reading on his bed. We texted back and forth on a steady basis; it never occurred to either of us that it might be too soon to do so. And it wasn’t. By the time April left and his brothers were ready to go on patrol, they had finally noticed the youngest’s absence. “Where’s Mikey?” Leonardo asked, joining Raphael and Donatello in the living room. “I think he’s in his room,” Donatello answered, not looking up from his laptop. “Mikey!” Leonardo came down the hallway to his youngest brother’s room. “Mikey! Time to go on patrol!” 

Leonardo heard some shuffling from the other side of the door. When Michelangelo opened it, the blue-masked turtle noticed Michelangelo quickly turn off his T-phone’s screen. “What were you doing?” Leonardo asked while raising an eyebrow. “Nothing,” Michelangelo brushed his off and continued to walk down the hall. Leonardo trailed close behind. “You were on your phone just now.” “Dude, I was checking something.” “What were you checking?” Michelangelo realized his mistake at his brother’s interrogating question. “Were you texting someone?” “Who would I have to text, bro? Except for April- which I wasn’t.” 

“Texting who?” Donatello closed his laptop and stood up. “No one!” Michelangelo retorted a little too hasty. That feeling the noose tightening around his neck slipped into his conscious again and he felt uneasy. “I mean, no one,” he tried again in a much cooler voice. “Oh really?” Raphael smirked, folding his arms. “You wouldn’t mind giving us your phone then, would you?” To their surprise, Michelangelo turned pale and didn’t say anything right away. After a long minute, he took in a deep breath. “No, it’s my phone. It’s private.” “You do know I can hack into your phone from my laptop, right?” Donatello fired back, making Michelangelo feel sick to the stomach. 

“Why do you guys care so much?” “Because we’re your brothers,” Leonardo started kindly. “And you’re an idiot,” Raphael added. “Look, there’s nothing for you guys to worry about. I’m totally fine.” But they didn’t seem the least bit convinced. Raphael turned his head sideway to look at the purple-masked turtle. “Hack his phone.” “No!” Michelangelo shouted loudly, alarming the others once more. They blinked at him as Michelangelo stood there with his arms up in the air, and he slowly came to understand that the jig was up. As his eyes scrolled downwards, his brothers approached him in serious, stern expression. 

“Why not?” Donatello asked suspiciously. “Is there something on there you don’t want us to see? Are you hiding something, or someone from us?” “I……..” Michelangelo’s mouth opened a little, but nothing more came out; he couldn’t even look his brothers in the eye. “Alright, out with it!” Raphael demanded, losing his patience. “You’ve been acting weird all day! You’re super happy for no reason and now you’re texting mysterious strangers. What’s going on? Tell us now!” “I……!” “Spit it out!” 

“Alright, alright! I admit it!” The youngest’s hands shot up in defeat. “I met someone!” This was all the admission Michelangelo for now. For a moment, the older brothers blinked, both in shock and suspicion. They doubted their youngest brother’s judge of character and knowing how much he longed for human friends, worried that he might settle on anyone who didn’t run away from screaming- if there was such a person. “Who?” Leonardo asked after a minute of consideration. Michelangelo bit his lower lip, also thinking to himself. He definitely wasn’t ready to tell them about our trip to Malaga just yet; they probably wouldn’t believe him if he did. But he wasn’t entirely sure how they’d react to someone like me either. I wasn’t like any of them or April; they didn’t know anyone like me. Knowing his brothers wouldn’t let this drop, the orange-masked turtle decided to meet them halfway with the truth. 

“Her name is Eros. I met her last night after I left you guys,” Michelangelo sighed in a purposeful attempt to look defeated; he wasn’t sure if they would buy it or not. “Her?!” This seemed to genuinely surprise the others more than the fact that he met a human at all. “You met a girl?” Leonardo asked in a flabbergasted tone. “Yeah right. What kind of girl doesn’t scream and run from an over-sized mutant turtle?” Raphael hissed, clearly not impressed. “A blind or dumb one, that’s who.” 

Michelangelo blinked at the utterance of this insult. As he moved his eyes to look up at his older brother, a new, totally foreign emotion kindled inside of him. Someone insulted me; Raphael just insulted me. Michelangelo hadn’t thought it possible until now. Why would anyone insult me? He couldn’t conceive of it; it didn’t seem natural, or right. The others noticed the way that Michelangelo was staring at Raphael, and although it took him less than ten seconds to react, they did see that dumbfounded, almost wounded expression their youngest brother had. Michelangelo straightened up and after a second or so, shot his brother an angry glare. 

“Don’t talk about her like that! She’s a mine-mill-delle!” Raphael stiffened at the rage in Michelangelo’s tone. “That’s “Mademoiselle”,” Donatello corrected. “Yeah, that! Mine-a-bell!” “W-where did you meet her?” Leonardo asked as Donatello rolled his eyes exasperated. “I…… I met her in the alley. She was scared of a rat which I chased away.” “She’s scared of rats?” Raphael burst out laughing, only stopping when he saw that his brothers hadn’t done the same. He glanced to Leonardo and Donatello before resting his fists on his waist. “I can’t be the only one who finds that funny.” 

“It’s not funny, Raph!” Michelangelo frowned. “She’s super afraid of them.” “So, you’re telling me that this human girl was more terrified of a messily rodent than a gigantic, mutant, turtle?” Raphael mirrored Michelangelo’s expression. “Y-yeah…….” Michelangelo gazed down, realizing what he had just said. “I guess she is.” “So, you “recused” her from a rat. Then what happened?” Leonardo asked in a much softer voice. “Uh……” Michelangelo’s foot kicked back and forth awkwardly. “Well, we talked a little and…… I don’t know…….. we just spent some time together.” 

“Wait,” they blinked in realization. “Did you……. was she the one you were with last night? The reason you literally disappeared for two hours?” “Y-yeah…….” Michelangelo rubbed the back of his head, glancing up in a shy manner. “What did you tell her?” Leonardo gasped, suddenly alarmed. “N-nothing!” His hands shot up. “What? You talked for two hours and you never told her anything about us?” Raphael’s eyebrow lifted, not believing a word of it. But he was startled when Michelangelo eyes moved off into nowhere like he hadn’t considered this until now. “Yeah, I guess not…… Huh,” he said this more to himself than them. 

The three eldest brothers glanced at each other like they weren’t sure what to say next. It was all happening so fast that they were not at all prepared for this. “Good!” Leonardo blinked when he heard Raphael’s voice again. As the leader, he wanted to handle the situation delicately and Raphael was not the one to that. “The less she knows about us, the better,” his arms folded defiantly. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Michelangelo glared at him, growing irritated himself. “May I remind you she’s a human? We can’t trust her, especially since she seems to like you,” Raphael said the last part gingerly, shooting his youngest brother a sharp glare. “What are you saying?” Michelangelo demanded. “He means that it’s suspicious, Mikey,” Donatello answered for his hot-headed brother. “The fact that she spoke to you is questionable enough. She might other motives for your friendship.” “Dude!” Michelangelo gasped, looking at Donatello scandalized. “Eros would never do anything that evil! There’s no secret or “other” motives. Can’t you just accept that a human girl wants to be my friend for me?” “No,” Donatello and Raphael simultaneously answered, while Leonardo remained quiet as he thought to himself. 

Michelangelo’s hands balled into fists as his lips dried in anger. “Maybe that’s because no human would want to be your friend for you are!” “What did you say?!” Raphael yelled, stiffening his own stance. “You guys just can’t accept that someone likes me for me! Eros could care less that I’m a mutant, but you wouldn’t know that’s like!” “Whoa, Mikey! We’re not trying to hurt your feelings,” Leonardo finally intervened, raising one of his hands in a calming jester. “We just….. don’t think you should trust her too much yet. You’ve gotta admit, it’s weird that a human would not be freaked out a little by your uh…… appearance.” “Well, Eros isn’t like other humans,” Michelangelo retorted. “Heh,” Raphael gave a little grunt. “I’ll say.” 

That did it. Michelangelo felt his nerves take over his body and brain. Something about that last comment really dug under his skin. I was the loveliest, most wonderful person he had met and here his brothers were, insulting and judging me. And it made him mad- it made him furious. But instead of lashing out or storming off like they usually did, Michelangelo’s face darkened. His muscles tensed and the mood in the room suddenly felt much thicker. All their eyes grew as Michelangelo’s met their gaze; his own harsher and more severe than they had ever seen before. His baby-blue eyes almost glowed red for a second. 

“I don’t care when you guys insult me; you guys can call me whatever name you want. But don’t ever insult Eros, not in front of me.” The tone in Michelangelo’s voice was one had never heard from him before. They flinched, staring at their brother in awe for a silent moment. When none of them said anything, Michelangelo continued, growing more courageous by the word. He was surprised how easy it was to defend me- probably because he believed that my character was something worth defending. 

“She’s something good that happened to me; she makes me really happy. She’s calm, and gentle, and the reason she isn’t afraid of me is because she actually trusts me. I’d……” Michelangelo glanced down, softening his expression a little. “I wanted you to meet her, someday. But if you aren’t willing to give her a chance, then what’s the point?” “Uh, maybe the reason we’re not giving her a chance because she’s human?” Raphael fired back. “Yeah, she’s a human. So what? She’s also my friend.” “Mikey, have you thought this through? You know we’re supposed to stay away from humans,” Leonardo said, not sounding as confident as he’d like. “I don’t need to think, Leo. I know- all I need to do is look at her and I know.”

“Wow, that’s sappy,” Donatello groaned, though Leonardo couldn’t help but looked surprised. Michelangelo had never said anything like that before and it sounded much too mature to come from someone like him. “It’s not sappy!” Michelangelo meanwhile shot Donatello a look. “Yes, it is,” Raphael agreed with the purple-masked turtle. “And FYI, you’ll never see her again. Not until we know we can trust her.” “Dude!” Michelangelo’s eyes darted to Raphael in horror. “You can’t be serious! We just met!” “I’m dead serious. You think we’re gonna let you jeopardize the team just so you can play tea-party with some chick who isn’t afraid of turtles? I don’t think so.” “Raph……” Leonardo started until Michelangelo cut him off. “This is totally unfair! Just because you guys don’t trust humans, doesn’t mean that all humans are bad! I should be allowed to have friends!” “And you are,” Raphael said in a patronizing tone, giving a smirk that Michelangelo wanted to wipe off his face. “Just after we say it’s alright.”   
“You guys are total jerks!” Michelangelo stomped off back down the hall towards his room. “Hey, where are you going?” Leonardo asked, flinching at his brother’s sudden departure. “We are going on patrol!” “Go by yourselves! I don’t wanna go!” Michelangelo shot back before his bedroom door slammed shut. The three brothers just blinked down the hall in astonishment. They had the sneaking suspicion that as soon as they left the lair, the orange-masked turtle would go racing to his new “friend’s” arms. To their surprise, Michelangelo was still locked in his room when they got home some hours later. He probably figured that his brothers would have trailed behind him if he left, which they would have. 

Michelangelo waited until his brothers were back before sneaking out. His first impulse was to vent through text with me after their fight but stopped himself just in time. He did have some awareness and knew that it was too soon to bring something like this, especially through text. If he wanted comfort, it had to be in person, and that’s exactly what he was going for. When the lair was quiet, Michelangelo stuck his head out of his room, checking down the halls for sight of his brothers or Splinter. When no one was around, he crept out towards the exit. As he left, the other three turtles watched him go from the shadows. 

“Dudes,” Donatello whispered to his elder brothers. “He’s like the worst at sneaking out ever. Does he even pay attention during ninja training?” “So what do you think, chief?” Raphael looked at Leonardo. “Should we stop him?” The eldest considered for a second then let out a tiny sigh. “No, but let’s follow behind. We’ll intervene when and if he needs help.” “Alright,” the three kept close behind the orange-masked turtle, who failed to notice their nearby presence. They followed him to a building beside the seawall. With a quick glance around, Michelangelo jumped to my windowsill; I texted which one it was to him earlier. Pushing up the unlocked window, the youngest turtle climbed inside, much to his brothers’ shock and horror. 

I was in the kitchen when Michelangelo entered. “Hi!” An instant happy grin passed over his face as I spun around to face him. He gave me the cutest wave, instantly relaxing. Ah, he thought to himself as I returned his smile- this is happiness. She’s so cute! “Michelangelo!” I beamed. By the time his brothers scaled to the side of my building and glanced in, they saw him coming over to give me a hug. Their eyes grew when he pulled back, relieving me fully for the first time. “Whoa, she’s pretty!” Donatello gasped. “So, she’s hot; big deal,” Raphael looked at Donatello, frowning. “She’s still a human.” “He was right about one thing,” Donatello continued. “She doesn’t seem scared of him at all.” “I bet it’s a trap,” Raphael spat. “Shhhh!” Leonardo shushed his two brothers, curious to hear our conversation; he kept his eyes locked on me. He had to admit, I was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, which wasn’t saying much in all fairness, considering the lack of girls he’d seen before. But still, I was exceptionally pretty, even in human standards. 

“I’m glad you’re here! I just put the kettle on. Would you fancy some tea and cake?” “Cake, yes; tea, no- I’m not a real tea kinda guy.” I laughed. “Would you like something else to drink? I have soda, lemonade, juice……” “Oh! Can I have some of that rose-lemonade?” Michelangelo pointed to a bottle on my kitchen shelf. “Of course! Glass or no glass?” “No glass, I like keepin’ it old school.” I smiled as I got him a bottle. He plopped himself down onto the couch in my living room adjoint my single-wall kitchen. His face beamed happily as I gave it to him over there. “Thanks, Eros.” “Your welcome,” I went back over to the counter to fix me my own cup of tea, glancing over at him occasionally. “She looks harmless,” Donatello noted in a whisper. “Yeah, that’s just what she wants you to think,” Raphael wasn’t buying it. 

“Is everything alright, Michelangelo?” I asked when he let out a huge sigh, tilting his head back so to stare up at the roof. “It’s my brothers. We had a huge fight earlier.” “A fight?” I raised an eyebrow as I poured my tea out into my handle-less cup. “What about? Was it about last night? Did you tell them?” “Not…… exactly,” the brothers looked at each other confused when Michelangelo said this. It seemed so evident to them that he did reveal the great secret from last night. “I mean I told them about you but…… not about Malaga or anything.” “Malaga?” Leonardo lifted a curious, nervous eyebrow. “I see. And they didn’t take it well, our…… meeting then?” Michelangelo snorted. “You can say that again! You totally don’t trust you, or any humans for that matter. And they think I’m an idiot for trying to be friends with you.” 

I joined Michelangelo at the couch, sitting down next to him and setting my teacup on the table. He grinned at me, just glad to be back in my company again. “You are definitely not an idiot, Michelangelo.” His baby-blue eyes blinked up at me, not quite believing what I was saying. “Yeah, I am,” he admitted. “I’m not smart like Donnie. I’m the dumbest one on the team,” his voice was so sincere that it worried both me and his brothers. It was like he actually believed what he was saying. After a moment, I glanced away, staring down at my tea in front of me thoughtfully. Then, I smiled a little. 

“I’m disappointed that your brothers don’t trust me, but I would never ask them to. I’m sure they have their reasons for not trusting me or other humans. But…… I did hope they would be more like you.” “You did?!” Michelangelo looked at me in astonishment. “How so?” I grinned back at him, resting my tiny hand over his large one. “Your kindness. That’s what I admire about you, Michelangelo- you are kind.” Michelangelo blushed so much that he thought his head was going to explode; even the others had redness in their cheeks. “W-well, thanks!” He laughed, shutting his eyes and rubbing the back of his head shyly. “You’re super kind too. That’s why I wanted you to meet them; to show them that not all humans are judgy and terrified of us. But you know what? Screw it! They probably wouldn’t appreciate someone like you anyways!” I laughed, and Michelangelo smiled, feeling his muscles instinctively relax. It was my turn for my eyes to widened as he reached up to brush a few stray hairs off my cheek. “I trust you, and that’s enough for me.” “Really?” “Yeah,” Michelangelo nodded. “Really.” 

We looked at each other for a bit longer before the orange-masked turtle stood up and stretched his arms high above him. Another smile crossed my lips as I watched him. Then he spun around to face me. “Wow! I feel so much better now!” “Good!” I exclaimed. “I’m glad.” “Hey, I know we went away last night, but would you mind if we went somewhere tonight?” “Not at all! Where did you have in mind?” “Eh,” he shrugged. “Somewhere where we can just lounge and look up at the stars. Maybe in East Angelia perhaps?” “I have just the place in mind,” the others watched curiously as I walked over to my front door. Their jaws literally dropped open in awe when I turned the handle, revealing a meadow on the other side. “How’s this?” I backed up, so Michelangelo could see. He popped his head inside, taking a look around before glancing back at me. “Perfect!” 

“I’m gonna leave my phone at home. Do you have yours?” “Yep! We’re all good!” “Excellent!” I grabbed my sweater and we turned to leave. By now his brothers had figured out what was happening and scrabbling to get inside. “Mikey, no! Don’t! Don’t go!” But too late. He let me go through first and shut the door behind him. By the time Raphael reached the door, he opened it to find nowhere but an empty hallway on the other side. He tried shutting and re-opening the door a couple of times, to no avail. Michelangelo was gone; by their guesses, he had left the city. To be sure, Donatello pulled out his T-phone and checked Michelangelo’s tracker. It said he was in Durham; a good two hours by rail away from Edinburgh. For a while, no one said anything. They just looked at each other with expressions of horror and disbelief. It didn’t take long though for Raphael to come up with the idea to search my apartment for anything incriminating. It would give them something to do, since they certainly weren’t leaving until their brother was back, safe and sound.


	2. Durham

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Michelangelo go to Durham while the turtles ransack your apartment.

Leonardo, Donatello, and Raphael didn’t hesitate to comb over every inch of my apartment. Granted, Leonardo did have slight reservations at first, which grew the more they searched. He was in charge of scanning over the living room, Donatello the kitchen and bathroom, and Raphael the bedroom. They looked for a couple of hours, finding nothing suspicious or out of the ordinary. The eldest began to realize their mistake after the first hour, though it was too late to call his brothers in. But one thing was clear by then- I may have been weaponless, but I was most certainly cultured. 

Donatello was the first to dawn on this after he opened all my cupboards and drawers. They were full of normal kitchen utensils. What surprised him was the amount of tea, tea-ware, and foreign foods. “Dudes, check this out!” He called to his brothers after rummaging through my pantry cupboard. The others came to find the purple-masked turtle holding a bottle of some weird-looking soda. “A-dall-viz?” “That’s “Edelweiss”,” Donatello rolled his eyes at Raphael’s failed attempt at German. 

“What is it?” Leonardo asked, inspecting the bottle’s label. It had this weird, fizzy liquid inside that resembled an apple-like ginger-ale. “From what I can translate, it’s some kind of Viennese soda.” “Gimme!” Donatello and Leonardo’s eyes grew as Raphael snatched the bottle from his hand. “Raph, no!” He ignored the eldest’s orders, wasting no time pulling the cap off and chugging half the bottle down. He paused, gave a loud burp, and hummed to himself thoughtfully. “It’s tastes….. like flowers!” 

“Are you an idiot, Raph?! That’s not ours! You can just go drinking other people’s stuff like that!” While Leonardo was busy scolding, Donatello took the bottle, gave it a sniff, and took a sip himself. He instantly frowned, holding the drink away from him. “Bleh! That’s gross! Who would make a flower-flavored pop?!” Leonardo took the bottle and chugged back a sip, making a “grossed-out face” once he did. He conveniently ignored the hypocrisy in his actions for a minute. But Raphael grabbed it back and finished it up within seconds. “It’s so good! Why don’t we have that here?” “Uh, because no one would buy it?” Donatello blinked at him in astonishment. “You….. actually liked that?” “Heck yeah! It’s awesome!” “Looks like you and Eros have something in common,” he crossed his arms and frowned. 

“Alright, you guys. Let’s just get back to searching the place but be careful! Don’t break anything, and don’t eat or drink anything else.” Raphael rolled his eyes at their leader’s order, but he returned to my bedroom anyways. Leonardo headed back to the living room, which was opposite the kitchen in the same room; it was a small, two-room apartment. The blue-turtle surprisingly found no DVDs or blue-rays but lots of books. They were scattered here and there, on the floor, foot-table, and couch. He noticed the titles had a common theme; they were history, philosophy, and classical literature. Interesting, he pondered picking one. These aren’t easy reads…… Just what kind of girl is this Eros? 

Leonardo’s train of thought was broken by the smash of glass echoing from the kitchen. His head shot to the side to see Donatello standing over a shattered mug on the floor. “Uh,” the purple-masked turtle looked absolutely frazzled. “You don’t think that mug was important, do you?” “Donnie!” 

Raphael didn’t hear the noise outside; he was much too busy scouring over my bedroom. And he wasn’t neat about it either. Clothes were flung everywhere, drawers were left open, my bed covers were upset. Nothing particularly held his interest for long until he opened my desk’s bottom drawer. His eyes widened at the sight of a grand assortment of sweets from around the world. Discarding his leader’s instructions, Raphael gorged himself on anything that looked the least bit appealing, which was nearly all my candy. 

Satisfied with his little “snack”, Raphael turned his attention to the closet. Sliding the door open, he sifted through the hanging sweaters and pants. On one side of the closet were shelves with more tea ware and books on them. Unlike his eldest brother, Raphael was not impressed by the titles; mainly because he didn’t recognize any of them. They were boring, he decided with a quick, detached glance down my bookcase. He was still in my room, rummaging through my desk drawers for a second time when the front door opened and they all raced out to the very small hall. 

While they were half-destroying my humble apartment, Michelangelo and I laid on the grassy field overlooking Durham’s cathedral in the distance. He loved it from the moment we arrived, but I was a little surprised when the orange-masked turtle didn’t ask to go visit it. He wanted instead, to lay in the grass and star-gaze. This sat with me perfectly fine. We laid side-by-side on the hill, staring up at the night sky and talking in a content way. 

“Look! Look!” I blinked over as Michelangelo pointed up to an undetermined star; I couldn’t tell which one he was addressing. “I found another one!” Instead of pushing him to clarify what he was referring to, I simply grinned. “Yes.” His face took on a sappy expression and he rested his hands behind his head in a relaxed fashion. “This is great! I’ve never done this before,” Michelangelo chuckled, making me glance at him again. “Who knew that watching the sky could be so entertaining?!” “You never did this with your brothers?” I asked. He shook his head. 

“No. We just left the sewers a couple of weeks ago. The surface is still super new to us.” I nodded my head though didn’t say anything. What could I say to that? I knew Michelangelo hadn’t travelled abroad before, but it never occurred to me that he was that sheltered. And it wasn’t just him but his brothers too…… No wonder they didn’t trust humans. They had just entered our world; it was new, strange, and probably intimidating to them. My eyes lowered onto Michelangelo as he continued to stargaze blissfully. I don’t know why but, in that moment, I had the overwhelming desire to keep him close, to show him that he could live above ground, that not all of us would run from him……. That he could be happy up here. 

“Eros? Is something wrong?” The orange-masked turtle asked when he noticed that I was looking at him with a soft, soulful gaze. “No.” “Really? Cause you’re lookin’ at me kinda funny.” “I’m just happy,” I sighed, turning my head to stare back up at the sky. “Oh…… Really?” “Yes, I am.” “Yeah,” a smile rolled across his lips. The two of us watched the stars, smiling. “I guess am too……. Me too.” 

After two or so hours in Durham, we thought it was time to head back. Michelangelo helped me to my feet and I opened “the door” back to my apartment. When we arrived though, it was obvious that something was painfully off. I didn’t even have time to make a guess before we were suddenly accosted by three man-sized turtles. I assumed these were Michelangelo’s older brothers; that wasn’t hard to figure out by the way they were fussing over him. What was confusing to me was why they were in my place without my consent or knowledge. I watched as they shouted at Michelangelo all at once without interjecting right away. 

“Mikey!” Their combined voices echoed through the whole building; I had to cover my ears. “Where did you go?!” “Why did you leave?!” “Do you know how stupid that was?! Seriously, how idiotic can you be?” “Are you alright? What happened?” Leonardo demanded while he and his brothers glared down on him. “Whoa, chill dudes!” Michelangelo’s hands shot up in front of him defensively. “I’m fine! We just went to Durham to stargaze; that’s all. No harm, no fowl.” “Durham? Like…… Durham the city?” Donatello asked. Michelangelo nodded. The three brothers looked at each other, allowing a welcomed silence to fall over the apartment. But this didn’t last long, and we shouldn’t have expected it to. 

“Wha-……. What are you talking about?!” Raphael bellowed. “How could you possibly go to another city, let alone country, in two hours?! And speaking of which, what did you mean by “Malaga” earlier?” The red-masked turtle crossed his arms over the front of his shell. “Uh….. about that. I was gonna tell you…… eventually…… but….. uh…….” Michelangelo fiddles with his fingers. “Mikey,” Leonardo finally had had enough, lowering his voice into a stern tone. It made his youngest brother look at him. “Tell us what’s going on. Did you really go to Durham tonight?” “I um………” “But how?!” Donatello interjected impatiently. “That’s impossible! No one can just “go somewhere” like that,” he snapped his fingers. 

For a second, I seemed to be completely invisible to the four masked turtles, which was fine by me. While they kept talking, or arguing, it gave me the opportunity to scan around my place. My jaw dropped when I saw the wrecked state it was in. The broken mug on the floor particularly caught my attention. “My birthday mug!” I shrieked. They blinked in surprise as I made a dash into the kitchen, getting to my knees to survey’s my beloved cup’s destruction. 

It was then that Michelangelo noticed how upset my apartment was. His eyes grew, and a sudden gurgle of shock and disgust bubbled up from his stomach. Leonardo got a nervous look on his face while Donatello and Raphael quickly started to realize their mistake when Michelangelo came over to my side. He shot them an angry glare. “Real nice, guys! You totally wrecked Eros’s home! I know I left without telling you guys, but did you have to go and destroy everything?” He spat, resting a large, three-finger hand on my back. 

“We……. We didn’t destroy everything. We uh, conducted a thorough search for…… you know, weapons and stuff,” Leonardo explained, though he had an embarrassed expression. “Yeah?” Michelangelo crossed his arms. “And did you find any?” “Um…….” They glanced at each other again, rubbing the back of their heads awkwardly. “W-well no. No, we didn’t find anything; well, anything suspicious anyways.” 

“I can’t believe you guys! I told you I trusted Eros! Why couldn’t you trust me?!” “Because your judgment sucks,” Raphael answered with a frown. “We had to make sure that she was actually trustworthy, because you saying she is, isn’t enough.” Michelangelo shot Raphael a dangerous glare; or as dangerous a glare as he could muster. “Sorry bro,” Raphael responded with a smirk and folding his arms. “Sad but true.” “You don’t trust me,” Michelangelo’s eyes began to grow. “It’s not like that, Mikey,” Leonardo saw this as a good time to intervene. He didn’t like where this was going and wanted to avoid hurting his youngest brother’s feelings. “We were just worried about your safety, that’s all.” “You don’t think I can handle myself, bro?” The orange-masked turtle glanced at his leader. “N-no! Of course we do! It’s just….. well, uh…… what if she was a spy for the Foot Clan or something?” “She’s my friend! She’s not part of the Foot Clan!” 

The four turtles once again ignored my presence as I went around my apartment, horrified. Shock soon turned to anger when I reached my bedroom. Not only were all my drawers open with their contents scattered everywhere but my clothes were off their hangers and my bookshelf was mess. My eyes grew in fury when I dawned upon my now-empty candy drawer. “My candy!” I yelled. That was the last straw. That was all I could take. All the brothers blinked at me as I ran outside my room to glare at them enraged. 

“You pilfered my candy drawer!” I accused, pointing my forefinger at the mass of them. “Pilfered?” Raphael raised a confused eyebrow. “Stole her candy. You stole, or rather ate her candy,” Donatello explained to him, unimpressed. “Oh!” Raphael’s eyes rolled up and his head nodded in confirmation. “Yeah, I did.” “Raph!” Leonardo felt like he was losing control of the situation very fast as I fired daggers at the red-masked turtle with my eyes. My lips pursed, my hands already in fists stiffened. These guys…….. these jerks! 

“Michelangelo,” I said in an ice-cold voice, shifting my stance to the side so I was only facing Michelangelo. “Please tell your brothers to leave.” This wasn’t a request; this was an order, and he knew it. A horrified look washed over his face. “No Eros! Come on, don’t be mad! I’m sure they didn’t mean to be heartless idiots,” he shot his brothers a look at the end of his sentence. “I was saving those sweets for my graduation! They were super expensive!” “I’ll make it up to you, I promise!” Michelangelo tried to appease me. “Tell them to leave, now!” “Heh,” Raphael had the nerve to chuckle, folding his arms in a show of attitude. “Looks like its someone’s time of the month.” 

That did it. My head over to them as I lifted my hand towards the front door. “Get out!” Even Michelangelo’s eyes widened in alarm; he’d never seen me that mad before. But when none of them moved, I took the situation into my own hands. Before I could anything though Leonardo tried to approach me. “I’m sorry, miss. We didn’t mean to mess up your apartment this bad. Let us help clean up.” “I don’t want your help. I want you to leave,” I growled. “But…….” Leonardo gave Donatello a pleading look. “We want to talk you! Mainly, I wanna know how you went to Malaga and Durham without…… actually travelling there,” Donatello rubbed the back of his neck, glancing away as he finished his sentence. “I don’t want to talk to you. You’ve grossly violated my privacy, on top of breaking and entering. You obviously don’t have a very high regard for me or my sense of security; why would I want to talk to you? Now, for the last time, get out!” 

My blood boiled hotter, if that was possible, when none of them moved. My teeth clenched unconsciously. Screw them! They have no respect for me whatsoever and why should they? Michelangelo told me that they didn’t trust humans. Why would I expect three giant mutant turtles, who are armed with weapons I might add, have any regard for my autonomy? Because they have good moral compasses of course! But no. No, they had to be untrusting, suspicious jerks with bad morals! 

Thinking about it only made me angrier. I took a few quiet seconds to evaluate the situation to myself. In reality, if these guys didn’t wanna leave, then I couldn’t make them. They were oversized turtles with deadly weapons. And unlike what the YA novels and movies tell us, I have no chance in forcing them to do anything. I’m a woman who can admit my physical weaknesses and lack of martial arts skills without bruising my ego; like I said, I’m a woman, not an idiot. But I did have something up my sleeve- my dignity. Just because these morons lost theirs doesn’t mean I have to lose mine. 

All their eyes widened in confusion and worry when I turned up my nose. “Fine,” I said with the upmost sternness. “If you won’t leave, then I will.” “Uh, but…… this is your house,” Donatello dared to point out. I shot him a side glare. “I know, but I’m still going. There nothing’s here you can steal that has real value to me, so there’s no reason for me to stay. You can stay as long as want,” I didn’t bother hiding the venom in my voice. “W-wait! Where will you go, Eros!?” Michelangelo rushed over to me, looking quite alarmed at the prospect of me leaving them alone. I looked at him with softer eyes. This wasn’t his fault; I knew that. But right now, I felt it best that I was alone. I would see him again soon, when we were by ourselves. “I am going to my father’s place tonight.” “W-where’s that?” He asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. “Vienna.” 

“V-Vienna?! You’re going to Vienna?! No, don’t go so far away! You don’t need to do that!” Michelangelo freaked out. “I’m sorry, Michelangelo, but I need some time right now.” After one last smile at my orange-masked friend, I glared at his brothers with a proud yet angry demeaner. I didn’t even say anything else, I just tossed my head back and marched out my front door before any of them could stop me. The last thing I heard before “the door” clicked shut was the sound of Michelangelo’s scream start to echo through my apartment. 

This made me grin in slight satisfaction, even if it was just slight. I was not going to stay there and yell at them until they left. That was certainly not my style. But I had no qualms about letting Michelangelo shriek and scold their ears off in my absence. We barely knew each other but it was obvious who’s side he was on in this situation. And it felt good to have an ally.


End file.
